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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-09-19 - City Commission Public Hearing Meeting Minutes5811 NORTHWEST MAIL ,REPLY To: P.O. Box 2W10 TAMARAC, F LOR IDA 33320 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722.5900 September 17, 1985 NOTICE OF BUDGET PUBLIC HEARINGS W FISCAL YEAR 1985/86 Please be advised that public hearings will be held by the City Council on Thursday, September 19, 1985, at 6:00 P.M., in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5811 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida, on the following items: 1. Prg osed Millage Rate - Tem . Reso. # - Discussion and possible action to adopt an aggregate proposed millage rate for FY 1985/86. 2. _Tentative General Fund Budget - Tem . Ord. #1221 - Dis- cussion and possible action t:o establish the Tentative General Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. First Reading. 3. Final Public Hearing - Announcement of the Time and Place for the Final Public Hearing on the Ad Valorem Millage Rate and General Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. 4. Tamarac Utilities West - Tem . Ord. #1223 -- Discussion and possible action to adopt the Annual Tamarac Utilities West Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. First Reading. 5. Special Funds - Temper Order #1224 - Discussion and possible action to adopt the Police Education, Building Education, GOB 1975 Sinking, GOB 1984 Sinking, City Hall Renovation, Drainage Improvement, Satellite Recreational Building, Parks and Recreation, Capital Construction Drainage, Sidewalk Project, Street Resurfacing Phase II, Capital Reserve, Central Data Processing Services,_ Central Purchasing/Stores, Fleet Maintenance, Self Insurance Collision, First Aid Claims, and Lease Escrow Fund Budgets for FY 1985/86. First Reading. 6. Federal Revenue Sharin Funds - Tem . Ord. 41225 - Discussion and possible action to adopt the Annual Federal Revenue Sharing Budget for the 17th Entitlement Period for FY 1985/86. First Reading. The public is invited to attend. Carol E. Barbuto Assistant City Clerk Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the city Council with respect to any matter considered at such m ;sting or hearing, he will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose, he may need to ensure that a verbatim record in(-Judes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to ;n based. CITY OF TAMARAC PUBLIC HEARINGS - BUDGET - FY 1985/86 SEPTEMBER 19, 1985 - 6:00 P.M. Tape Mayor Kravitz called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, l September 19, 1985, in Council Chambers. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz Vice Mayor Helen Massaro Councilman Arthur H. Gottesman Councilman Raymond J. Munitz Councilman Sydney M. Stein ALSO PRESENT: Jon Henning, City Attorney Larry Perretti, Acting City Manager Frank Etheredge, Finance Director Carol E. Barbuto, Assistant City Clerk V. Diane Williams 1. Proposed Millage Rate - Temp. Reso. 376 - Discussion and Possible action to adopt an aggregrate proposed millage rate for FY 1985/86. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED the final millage rate RESOLUTION NO. 85-288 PASSED for FY 85/86 at 2.85 mills ($2.85 per $1,000.00 assessed valuation). Public Hearing was held. Mr. Henning read Temp. Reso.3763 by title. Mayor Kravitz opened the public hearing. Bruce Hoffman, resident, read a letter he wrote to the newspaper concerning the City's tax rates in which he referenced that the proposed City Hall Complex be shelved until the City can better afford it. Vickie Beech, resident, said she specifically wanted to discuss the City Attorney's budget, if time permits. Wally Conyer, resident, asked if the Police Department will con- tinue to be maintained by the City or if it would be transferred to the County. Mayor Kravitz said the budget has been prepared to reflect the maintaining of the City's own police department. Mr. Conyer asked if the City would not save over $200,000 yearly by placing the Police Department under county jurisdiction. Mayor Kravitz said it is not being considered at this time because there are a lot of questions to be answered that have not been ad- dressed yet. Arnold Kaplan, resident, stated that he did not feel the meeting should have been called so early and that Council should discon- tinue plans to build the proposed City Hall Complex. Hyman Fox, resident, inquired if there was a law stipulating the amount of surplus funds that a city can accumulate and was the amount of money accumulated and still accumulating with the Zimbabwe bonds more than the City is allowed to keep in surplus. 1 J 9/19/85 /vdw Frank Etheredge, Finance Director, answered that the budget limi- tation referenced by Mr. Fox applied only to the General Fund. He said most of the funds of the City stand apart from the General Fund, and any funds that the City could transfer to balance the budget were moved. The Finance Director informed that the Zimbabwe bonds were sold and no longer existed. Mr. Etheredge said the proceeds from the sale of the bonds were used to buy a one million dollar Treasury bond and this bond does not apply strictly to the General Fund but is stretched over all the funds of the City. Leo Camaro, resident, asked for additional information on the Zimbabwe bonds. Mr. Henning explained that it was a Federal investment by the Finance Department of a Federal bond in foreign aid program and it was backed by the good faith and credit of the United States. He said it was similar in guarantee as a Treasury Note except Federal agencies directed this as a foreign aid bond. He said it was in'the amount of $1,000,000.00 and was held for over a year and was recently sold. Mr. Camaro inquired when the invest- ment was made. C/M Stein answered 1983. Mr. Henning said it was guaranteed by the Federal government. Mr. Henning advised the six items of business to be discussed, five of which required a second reading, and if all the residents are not heard tonight, they will get another chance to speak at the next meeting. Mr. Ed Solomon, resident, said a misstatement was made about the Zimbabwe issue as it was not a bond but a loan which was never fully endorsed by the Federal government but by HUD. Shirley Blumfield, resident, said she was present at the special meeting to interview city manager candidates and that Vice Mayor Massaro asked Mr. Spence, a candidate, about the Zimbabwe bond and he said it was not backed by the Federal Government. Larry Snyder asked if the City's loss of the ESM funds was re- flected in the budget. Mr. Henning answered possibly the interest but not the principal. V/M Massaro said the City was losing $750,000 a year. Mr. Snyder cautioned them not to overspend in view of the fact that they have taken a loss with ESM. Acting City Manager Larry Perretti explained that the City has, in the past, used surplus money known as the Fund Balance in the General Fund to balance each year's budget rather than increase revenues coming into the City. He said, however, for FY 1984/85 the Fund Balance for the General Fund of the City is projected at or below zero. Mr. Perretti said in a number of years that have past the expenses were greater than the revenue generated and since there is no Fund Balance to use this year, he has included in the proposed budget the following revenue increases Council will be asked to consider to balance the General Fund Budget for the coming year: anticipated amount for property tax - $520,000; tele- communications tax - $460,000 and a garbage fee of $525,000. The Acting City Manager reported that in FY 1985/86 it was projected the City will pay $1,000,045 for solid waste removal; currently the City is paying $960,500 for solid waste removal. He said there has not been any revenue coming into the City to match the money going out. Mr. Perretti explained that the increase in the cost of the service is due to the increased tipping charges that will be in- curred by the City this coming year from a present fee of $21 per ton tipping fee to $25 per ton. Mr. Perretti said the following extraordinary measures have been used to balance the budget for the coming fiscal year: Budget personnel with no new personnel Discontinued all car allowances for department heads and assistants Proposal to close City Hall Renovation Fund of $400,000 to be transferred to the General Fund Fund Balance in the Capital Reserve Fund of $300,000 transferred to the General Fund to finance all capital outlay purchases for FY 1985/86 The Acting City Manager stipulated that the last two measures 2 9/19/85 /vdw �;' mentioned are one-time revenue sources for the General Fund and will not be available next year. Mr. Perretti said due to anticipation of the City issuing General Obligation Bonds for the coming fiscal year for the new City Hall and Police Station, there has been budgeted a debt service property tax of $0.811 mills to generate $720,000 to pay debt service on the bonds. He said the overall increase in the General Fund is pro- jected to be 4.8%, and the total General Fund Budget for next year is expected to be $10,586,494. Mr. Perretti said 68.5%, which is $7,259,425 of the total budget, is personnel costs; 31.5, which is $3025,069, is operating costs. The Acting City Manager listed five additional areas of vital concern to the City: - Fair Labor Standards Act which is an unknown monetary impact which will affect manpower as well as wages to be paid - Need for new canal pump stations - Monies to pay for adequate liability insurance coverage - He informed that he received a notice stating that the City's liability and fleet service insurance has been terminated. - Monies needed to finance future improvements for the City's infrastructure - The outlook for recovery of ESM investments Mr. Perretti concluded that he was asking for Council's approval of the proposed budget on First Reading. Mr. Etheredge acknowledged that without the increases proposed in the budget, the other alternative would be to cut services across the board. Bruce Hoffman said he has no objection to paying taxes for needed services; however, he said he did not need a new City Hall and new Police Department when they are financially broke. Bernie Hart, resident, said the City should adjust the operating costs in order to bring the budget in line with the anticipated expenditure. He said Council's greatest concentration should not be looking for ways to increase revenues but to decrease operating costs. Mr. Hart said the proposed increase will only serve to accomplish a big dent in the pocketbooks of the residents of Tamarac. Jack Stelzer, resident, asked the Finance Director if he had more current figures than those of 7/31/85 for the amount of surplus funds. Mr. Etheredge answered that all ad valorem have come in as of August. Mr. Stelzer asked how much did he expect the actual expenses to exceed the actual income as of September 30. The Finance Director said the City plans to spend $1,475,000 of what it had on reserve at the end of the last year and as of July, the City has spent $1,100,000 of that amount. Victor Leftin, resident, said he was highly insulted when he read the budget in the newspaper because everything that concerned him, the citizen, is on a decrease. Tape Leo O'Connor, resident, said he was interested in the debt service 2 of over a half million dollars on bonds and asked if the bonds had been issued. The Acting City Manager said they had not been issued. Mr. O'Connor asked if construction were delayed, could the item be removed, and Mr. Perretti answered that it could. The City Attor- ney said to a degree and explained that the debt service on the bonds which is about $.81 per thousand, which was approved by a referendum of the people, has to be established as of October 1. Mr. Henning said if it is determined that the City Hall is not to be built until at least another October 1, they will be giving up an entire year's assessment. He said if it is assessed and for 3 9/19/85 /vdw some reason the City Hall is not built or is abandoned indefinite- ly, then the money that was raised certainly could go into next year's taxes. Don Perlman, resident, said a while back there was an uproar over high appraisals, high taxes and there was a revolt. He said now it seems that they are isolating areas because his area (Sunflower/ Heathgate) is faced with an 11% increase. He said it was time that Council found ways to raise revenues without taking it from the people in the form of "hidden taxes", i.e., gas tax, telephone tax, etc. David Silvergleid, resident, said it was true that a referendum mandated building the new City Hall Complex but it did not mandate that it be built October 1, 1985 and asked for Council's conside- ration to delay construction before the final public hearing. He said various cuts can be made which may either reduce the proposed increase or perhaps eliminate it entirely and asked that between now and September 30 Council give it serious consideration. Mayor Kravitz closed the public hearing. C/M Stein said if the millage rate is passed, it would be $2.85 and he does not want that because he has certain ideas which might reduce the millage rate before it is passed. Mr. Henning answered that C/M Stein had a very good point but ex- plained that Council had two resolutions: one for tonight and another for the 30th. He said when the millage rate is set that is the amount of dollars that will come out of the pocketbooks of the taxpayer and then it is up to Council to determine which line item the money goes to and that it is not as critical tonight as it would be on the 30th. The City Attorney referenced Florida Statutes, Chapter 200.065, subsection a (1) which stated that Council shall adopt its tenta- tive or final millage rate prior to adopting its tentative or final budget. C/M Stein suggested that construction of the proposed City Hall Complex be TABLED and acknowledged that it may cost more next year. V/M Massaro said Council should review the entire budget at a workshop. C/M Stein WITHDREW his original MOTION because Council is only com- plying with the technicalities required by law and that this millage rate is up for review and that the workshop and the final rate will be established after review of the line items. V/M Massaro said Council hoped to have a reduction after review. C/M Munitz stated there were two major reasons why he could not vote for the $2.85 millage: the expenses have been overstated and the revenue has been understated both of which have the effect of increasing the millage. C/M Munitz said the expenses have been overstated in the areas where expenses have been charged against the General Fund which was done in anticipation of receiving pro- ceeds from a bond issue and it was always stipulated that when the proceeds of that bond issue came in that the money that was spent from the General Fund would be given back to the General Fund which would, of course, create a surplus. He said, secondly, TUE and TUW received the services of the employees and the professionals whose expenses are charged to the General Fund - the salaries of the Utilities Director, the attorney, the City Clerk's Office, practi- cally every department contributed in some manner towards the operations of the Utilities Funds for both East and West. C/M Munitz said there was no indication that these funds were reimbur- sing the General Fund for the amount of monies that have been charged against the General Fund that should rightfully be charged against each respective utility. He said he was certain if those two corrections were made that enough surplus would be created so that it will not be necessary to charge separately for the garbage 1-1 1 4 9/19/85 /vdw A collection which they have not been doing for many, many years. V/M Massaro said if C/M Munitz's statements were correct, those costs that he is speaking of would increase the cost of utility rates. Mayor Kravitz asked for clarification from the Finance Director as to the time used by the City Staff for utilities -related work as referenced by C/M Munitz. Mr. Etheredge replied that presently he is transferring $200,000 per year into the General Fund just to cover those administrative expenses. He said it can be argued that $200,000 is not sufficient but revealed that no one has set up a system to track the costs. The Finance Director said discussion is underway as to devising such a system so that justification can be made that the City is spending more than $200,000 yearly; however, he stipulated that every dollar that is taken out of the utility fund is another dollar that is used to calculate how much the citizens' utility bills are and concluded that it was a cycle. He said the property taxes could possibly be lowered but the utility bills will go up. C/M Munitz said nothing has been transferred into the General Fund from Utility East. Mr. Etheredge acknowledged that nothing has been transferred from Utility East but stated that it would be a minor amount if it could be transferred because the Utility East budget is 1/10th of the Utility West budget. C/M Gottesman said it was true that the City may recover some of the money from ESM but it may take several years. He said the loss of interest represented a 10% loss to the budget. V/M Massaro reiterated that the budget will be reviewed at a workshop to be scheduled before the final public hearing (9/30/85). C/M Munitz requested an answer from the City Attorney and the Finance Director with regard to the expenses that were charged against the General Fund, which, in anticipation, were to be reim- bursed by the proceeds from the bond issues. Mr. Henning replied that it was true that the architectural fees were part of the building costs and were anticipated to be charged against the proceeds of the bonds; he said the amount was approxi- mately $250,000 to $300,000. He said Council discussed at prior meetings that they were not going to sell bonds just to cover a few hundred thousand dollars in fees and if the building is delayed this year, they will not have the monies to offset the fees. V/M Massaro MOVED that Tem . Reso. #3763 ADOPTING the final millage rate for the City of Tamarac for Fiscal Year 1985/86 at 2.85 mills per one thousand dollars. SECONDED by C/M Stein. VOTE: C/M STEIN AYE C/M MUNITZ NAY C/M GOTTESMAN AYE V/M MASSARO AYE MAYOR KRAVITZ AYE V/M Massaro said it is with the understanding that they will have a workshop before the second reading. Mr. Henning said it also indi- cated that the final hearing will be held on Monday, September 30, 1985 at 6:00 F.M. 2. Tentative General Fund Budget - Temp. rd. #1221 - Dis- cussion and possible action to establish the Tentative General Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. First Reading. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED Temp. Ord #1221 establishing the Tentative General Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. First Reading. 5 9/19/85 /vdw Mr. Henning read Temp. Ord..11221 by title. Mr. Larry Perretti stated the proposed budget was $12,011,174, recommended by him - $10,586.949 which is a total increase of 4.8%. V/M Massaro said this is subject to correction when the workshop is held and that all the ordinances that will be acted on tonight will be heard again on second reading. V/M Massaro MOVED the adoption of Temp_. Ord. #1221 on First Reading. Mayor Kravitz opened the public hearing. Bernie Hart, resident, asked that the following items be considered by Council for possible cuts: City Engineer's budget, Personnel, Building and Community Development, Sanitation Services and Charter Board. Bruce Hoffman, resident and member of the Charter Board, stated that the Charter Board's budget increased because they were given the authority by the voters of Tamarac to hire their own attorney. Jack Stelzer, resident, said he has scrutinized the budget very carefully and noted that only the raises that had to be given were given. Vickie Beech, resident, said it appears that the City has selective law enforcement, selective code enforcement, selective zoning enforcement and selective ordinances and stated that the comments were directed towards the City Attorney's Office and the Police Department. Mayor Kravitz closed the public hearing. V/M Massaro MOVED the APPROVAL of Temp. Ord. #1221 on First Reading. SECONDED by C/M Gottesman. C/M Munitz stated that the total budget given to Council by Mr. Ferretti was incorrect and that he could not approve the budget for that reason. VOTE: C/M STEIN AYE C/M MUNITZ NAY C/M GOTTESMAN AYE V/M MASSARO AYE MAYOR KRAVITZ AYE Tape 3. Final Public Hearing - Announcement of the Time and Place 3 for the Final Public Hearing on the Ad Valorem Millage Rate and General Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Mayor Kravitz announced the next budget hearing will be held September 30, 1985 at 6:00 P.M. Mayor Kravitz announced September 30, 1985 at 6:00 P.M. in Council Chambers as the time and place for the Final Budget Hearing on the Ad Valorem Millage Rate and General Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. 4. Tamarac Utilities West - Temp. Ord. #1223 - Discussion and possible action to adopt the Annual Tamarac Utilities West Fund Budget for FY 1985/86. First Reading. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED Temp. Ord. #1223 on First Reading Mr. Henning read Temp. Ord. #1223 by title. 6 J 9/19/85/vdw Mr. Perretti summarized the proposed budgets for the utility departments. Mr. Etheredge explained that in the.past no budgets were adopted for these projects; therefore, for this coming year he and Bill Greenwood, Utilities Director, tried to set up projects for every- thing. Mr. Greenwood said the procedure for spending money from the Renewal and Replacement Account is to obtain an R&R certificate from the Consulting Engineer representing the utilities. He said it also comes before Council for bid authorization. V/M Massaro asked him if he was saying that as long as the money is in R&R and certification is obtained from the Consulting Engineers, who are in charge of the bond issues on the utility, that he can work without a budget. Mr. Greenwood answered that was prior procedure and said that the new procedures that are being set up by the Finance Director in- cludes that each and every project, no matter where the funds come from, whether it is R&R or any other account, will have a separate account number, a budget transfer into it so the project can be tracked from Day One onward. He said no additional monies are being requested for this particular account. V/M Massaro asked how money can be expended from this account for the coming year. Mr. Greenwood said the R&R account contained separate account numbers. Wally Cogdell, resident, asked what happens to the money that comes in from new residents because the City does not pay interest on it. Mr. Henning said if the City paid the residents interest, Council would have to charge them. Bruce Hoffman suggested that the presentation is meaningless because the Acting City Manager was reading information that the audience did not have. Mr. Perretti recommended at the second public hearing, since the audience had some information, that it be revised and he will read the information from the revised sheet. Mayor Kravitz opened the public hearing. Mr. Hoffman asked what the $15,000,000 for construction represented if an expenditure for over $1000,000 has to go to public referen- dum and he did not remember voting on it. Mr. Henning said the residents voted on it in March 185. Mr. Hoffman also questioned the sewerage effluent disposal and stated that the residents were assured that they would get a grant from the State and, as of now, they have not gotten a grant and it does not look like they are going to get a grant. He said Council should not float any bonds until they know a grant is coming from the State. V/M Massaro asserted that the City still has the lowest tax rate of any city in the County. Jack Stelzer asked if Council had devised a new rate structure based on the budget. Finance Director Etheredge replied that the budget has the same rate structure as this year's but there is a proposal before Council to increase the rates within the next sixty (60) days because of the bond issue. Bernie Hart said he has received several telephone calls concerning the rate study in his capacity as President of the Presidents' Council. He said the makers of the rate study said there were special rates being given to the clubhouses of homeowners associ- ations and that would nullify any State grants that the City could get. Mr. Hart said he discussed this with the former City Manager and Steve Wood and they informed him there was no special rate structure for clubhouses because the former City Manager was trans- ferring it to residential. V/M Massaro said the transfer has been made and that there is no special rate structure. 7 9/19/85 /vdw Mr. Perretti informed the public that all budget information is available for them to read in the City Clerk's Office. Barry Eden, resident, said the major concern is the cost to the residents of the City. He requested the proposed rate structure for the people who will be unable to attend the next meeting. Mr. Henning informed that there will be an advertised meeting to discuss the rates. Mayor Kravitz closed the public hearing. V/M Massaro MOVED the ADOPTION of Temp. Ord. #1223 on First Reading. SECONDED by C/M Gottesman. VOTE• C/M STEIN ABSENT C/M MUNITZ AYE C/M GOTTESMAN AYE V/M MASSARO AYE MAYOR KRAVITZ AYE 5. S ecial Funds - Temp. Ord. #1224 - Discussion and possible action to adopt the Police Education, Building Education, GOB 1975 Sinking, GOB 1984 Sinking, City Hall Renovation, Drainage Improvement, Satellite Recreational Building, Parks and Recreation, Capital Construction Drainage, Sidewalk Project, Street Resurfacing Phase II, Capital Reserve, Cenral Data Processing Services, Central Purchasing/Stores, Fleet Maintenance, Self Insurance Collision, First Aid Claims, and Lease Escrow Fund Budgets for FY 1985/86. First Reading. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED Temp. Ord. #1224 on First Reading Mr. Henning read Temp. Ord. #1224 by title. The Acting City Manager stated that he had reviewed all the budgets and the revenues for FY 84/85 were $4,309,065.00 and the expendi- tures were $4009,065.00. He said he recommended revenues and expenditures for FY 85/86 of $3,005,407. Mayor Kravitz opened the meeting to the public. Hyman Fox, resident, asked for clarification of the amounts. V/M Massaro answered they were escrows and would not be spent. She explained that the City can only spend what is needed because those are funds from developers for very specific reasons. Frank Etheredge said in preparing the budget he went through all the funds and tried to project how much would be spent between July and the end of the year and from that took everything that was available to finance the operations for this coming fiscal year. He said the money not spent this year will be spent next year. Jack Stelzer explained that the remaining funds would be trans- ferred into the 1985/86 fiscal year. The Finance Director explained that the $400,000 City Hall Renovation Fund is budgeted because he has to have authority from Council to close the fund. He said the General Fund reflects the transfer of the $400,000. Mayor Kravitz closed the public hearing. V/M Massaro MOVED the ADOPTION of Temp. Ord. #1224. SECONDED by C/M Gottesman. VOTE• C/M STEIN ABSENT C/M MUNITZ AYE C/M GOTTESMAN AYE V/M MASSARO AYE MAYOR KRAVITZ AYE 8 9/19/85 /vdw Tape 6. Federal Revenue.�Sharing Funds - Temp. -Ord. #1225 - 4 Discussion and possible action to adopt the Annual Federal Revenue Sharing Budget for the 17th Entitlement Period for FY 1985/86. First Reading. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED Temp. Ord. #1225 on First Reading Mr. Henning read Temp. Ord. #1225 by title. Mr. Perretti read the budget for FY 1984/85 was $246,380 and his recommendation for FY 1985/86 was $300,000. Mayor Kravitz opened the public hearing. Hearing no response, Mayor Kravitz closed the public hearing. V/M Massaro MOVED the ADOPTION of Tem Ord #1225 on First Reading. Seconded by C/M Munitz. VOTE: C/M STEIN ABSENT C/M MUNITZ AYE C/M GOTTESMAN AYE V/M MASSARO AYE MAYOR KRAVITZ AYE Mayor Kravitz adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m. ATTEST: CITY CLERK This public document was promulgated at a cost of $ Q .00 or $ 2.78 per copy to inform the general public and public officers and employees about recent opinions and considerations by the City Council of the City of Tamarac. 'CITY OF TAMARIW R ED AT MEETING 0 / City CIO 9 9/19/85 /vdw